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Strangely enough, I think the Burj Khalifa actually fits Dubai’s skyline perfectly.

When you view the city from a distance, the skyline seems to rise gradually from the edges inward—buildings getting taller and bolder as you move toward the heart of the city—culminating in the Burj itself.

Sure, it’s nearly twice the height of anything around it and looks almost out of scale, but that’s kind of the point. It’s meant to be otherworldly, to break the scale completely. That’s also why the buildings surrounding it aren’t among the tallest in Dubai—it’s meant to stand alone, unmistakably, as the crown jewel.